Scientifist

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In an interesting study carried out at North Carolina State University, scientists have found out a simple solution for energy storage and transfer: Just add nanoscale water.

A PhD student, James Mitchell, and a team headed by Prof. Veronica Augustyn demonstrated that materials containing a thin layer of water molecules were able to store and deliver energy in a much more efficient way.

NANOSCALE WATER BOOSTS ENERGY STORAGE. These layers of water molecules were in the nanoscale range, which is simple known as nanoscale water. These were used specifically to aid the storage and delivery of energy. The research found that the charging time significantly affects which form of the tungsten oxide stores the most energy. When the two materials were charged for 10 minutes, the regular tungsten oxide without the water molecules stored the most energy.

“We are now moving forward with National Science Foundation-funded work on how to fine-tune this so-called ‘interlayer,’ which will hopefully advance our understanding of these materials and get us closer to next-generation energy storage devices.”